One Night
by stirringofmysoul
Summary: One night can change everything. *AU*
1. Chapter 1

_Note: The following story is an AU. No vampires, no alchemists, etc. _

Chapter One

Sydney rolled over from her side onto her back. She yawned and tried to stretch, but something was thwarting her attempt. Sydney cracked open an eyelid and spotted a mess of dark brown hair.

Suddenly the events of the previous night started to flood through her mind. Her friend Jill invited her to a party at her apartment. Normally Sydney stayed away from that scene, but the stress of finals was getting to her and the thought of going home for a month was enough to make even the most straight laced of persons edgy. Jill assured her blowing off some steam was just what she needed.

The second Sydney walked into Jill's apartment she knew she had made a mistake. The place was wall to wall students, the music was so loud Sydney could feel herself vibrating, and there was a smell in the air that she couldn't quite identify. She was also pretty sure she didn't want to.

Before she could make it to the door to escape Jill spotted her. She grabbed Sydney by the arm and introduced her to various people at the party. Sydney felt slightly less uncomfortable with Jill by her side. That was until Jill got called to handle some kind of situation (also something Sydney was pretty sure she didn't want to know about) and she was left alone with Jill's friend, Adrian.

Adrian was everything Sydney wasn't. He wasn't the slightest bit awkward at this party. He had a friendly smile and an easy manner with everyone he talked to. He even listened (or pretended to listen) when Sydney started to wax on about her displeasure of having to go home soon. She wasn't sure if it was because he was easy to talk to or the amount of alcohol in her system, but Sydney ended up spilling her woes to him.

All Sydney ever wanted to do was study architecture. Well, that and history. That was quickly shot down by her father. She was going to become a lawyer, take over the family practice, and that would be her life. No ifs, ands, or buts. Rather than stand up for herself Sydney backed down and now found herself in her second year of pre-law at the state university.

Adrian nodded at all the right places, said oh when appropriate, and made a lot of sympathetic faces. Sydney had never felt so connected to anyone as she did during their conversation, which was probably why she did something she'd never normally do. She hooked up with him.

Adrian was all fire and passion. He didn't waste any time getting Sydney back to his apartment and into his bed. And Sydney was all too eager to forget all the troubles on her mind.

That was how Sydney found herself here right now (feeling very awkward). The only other person she had slept with was her high school boyfriend, Brayden. That was why she had no idea how to gracefully exit his apartment. Was she supposed to wake him up? Have breakfast? Shower?

"What time is it?" Adrian asked, breaking into Sydney's spastic thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, ummm it's after nine," Sydney replied.

"Oh, wow…it's early," Adrian said. He rolled over and cuddled himself against Sydney.

"What exactly are you doing?" Sydney asked.

"Cuddling you," Adrian replied."

"You don't have to," Sydney responded.

"I know I look very tough and manly, but I like cuddling," Adrian said. He smiled up at her.

Sydney couldn't help but laugh a little. "I never would have guessed that," she said. She shifted a little bit.

"Do you have somewhere to be?" he asked her, not seeming fazed by her at all.

"Well, no. I don't have any finals left," she replied.

"Good," Adrian said in reply.

"Why is that go…oh we're kissing," Sydney said as his lips touched hers.

"Very good, Sage," Adrian said with a laugh.

"We shouldn't be kissing," Sydney said to him.

"And why is that?" he replied. He nuzzled his nose along her cheek.

"Because we were drunk last night…" Sydney said. "We don't even like each other."

"Hey, now. I like you," Adrian replied.

"Correction. We don't know each other," Sydney said.

"Oh, I think we know plenty. Well, the important things anyway," he said. His nose was now between the valley of her breasts.

Before Sydney could respond with words a soft sigh escaped from her throat.

"Yeah, I knew it," Adrian said with a chuckle as he bit gently on her skin.

"I really should go," Sydney said, twisting a little bit.

"Sage, don't you know the proper protocol regarding the morning after?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Leave quietly?" she offered a guess.

"Nope," Adrian replied. "A little morning something before breakfast."

Sydney blushed.

"Oh, now you're embarrassed," Adrian teased her. "You certainly weren't last night."

"I was drunk last night," Sydney pointed out.

"Nevertheless you should still follow through," Adrian replied.

"Does this usually work?" Sydney asked him.

"Define this," Adrian replied.

"Your charms," Sydney said.

Adrian grinned. "So you admit I'm charming," he replied.

Sydney sighed and finally got up into a sitting position. "I really do need to go," she said.

"Pleading the fifth is the same as admitting," Adrian said. He leaned over the edge of the bed and grabbed their clothes off the floor.

"Thanks," she said as she took her dress from his hands. "Could you turn around?"

"Because I haven't seen you naked," Adrian said with a snort. He politely averted his gaze while she pulled her clothes back on.

"Thank you," she said.

"Do you want breakfast?" he offered. "I make a mean omelet."

"What part of I need to go confused you?" Sydney asked him.

"You only said that because you don't want to have sex again," Adrian said. "I'm not asking for sex. I'm talking about breakfast."

"Why do you want me to stay so badly?" she asked him.

"I thought you said you were done with finals," Adrian replied, ignoring her question. They left his bedroom and headed into the kitchen.

Sydney headed straight for the coffee pot and started prepping. "I am done. I wouldn't have gone to a party like that if I wasn't done," she replied.

"Then what's the big hurry?" Adrian asked.

"Besides the fact this is incredibly weird, I have to pack my stuff up for the break," she explained.

"Oh, yeah. You're going home and you're not happy about it," Adrian recalled from last night's pre-hookup conversation.

"Ah, so you were listening," Sydney said. Once the coffee was set she sat down at the table.

"I'm not a complete ass," Adrian replied. He busied himself with taking things out of the fridge and cabinets.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Sydney asked him.

"Of course I do," Adrian replied. "You can go shower if you want."

"Yeah, I think I just might," she agreed.

"Just be careful with the knobs…they're wonky," Adrian explained.

"Wonky," Sydney repeated. "Got it." She quickly made her escape back to Adrian's bedroom to retrieve her cell phone. She punched in Jill's number.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Hey, you. How are you feeling? Hungover?" Jill asked. "Have you ever been hungover?" she added.

"I need help," Sydney whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" Jill whispered back.

"I'm whispering because I'm in an awkward situation. I'm not sure why you're whispering," Sydney said.

"What kind of awkward situation?" Jill asked curiously, the volume in her voice returning to normal.

"I kind of hooked up with one of your friends last night and I don't know how to get out of his place," Sydney explained.

Jill laughed out loud. "Oh, that's funny. You really had me going for a second," she replied. "But seriously. What's your situation?"

Sydney crinkled up her face. "No, really…that's what's going on," she said.

"Shut up!" Jill exclaimed after a beat of silence.

"No, I'm not going to shut up. I need help," Sydney said.

"I can't believe this. Hold on…give me a second to pick myself up off the floor," Jill replied. "Which friend?"

"Adrian," Sydney replied.

"Shut up!" Jill exclaimed again.

"Stop telling me to shut up," Sydney said to her. "Help me!"

"Can't you just sneak out?" Jill offered.

"He's already awake…and cooking breakfast," Sydney said.

"Seriously? And you think this is a bad situation?" Jill scoffed.

"I said awkward, not bad," she corrected her friend.

"What's awkward about scrambled eggs?" Jill pondered.

"No, not that," Sydney said to her. "He wanted to like hook up again this morning."

"Oh," Jill said sympathetically. "Was he bad?"

"Huh? No, I mean…no," Sydney said with a sigh. "You're not helping."

"That's because there isn't a problem," Jill said. "A nice guy wants to cook you breakfast. Let him."

"Really? I feel weird," Sydney said.

"That's because you're not an actual human sometimes. Call me later with the rest of the details," Jill replied. And with that she hung up.

Sydney stared blankly at her phone. Fat lot of help she was.

"Everything okay?" Adrian called.

Sydney rubbed her face. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said. She tucked her phone back in her purse and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

After she showered, though she still felt a little grimy wearing the same clothes again, she joined Adrian back in the kitchen.

"It smells good," she said politely, and a little bit surprised.

"You don't have to sound so shocked," Adrian joked. He handed her a cup of coffee and gestured for her to sit at the table.

"Thanks," she said and sipped from the mug. "Are you going home for break?" she asked. She figured she should attempt conversation.

"Yeah, my dad is pretty set on it," Adrian replied. "We're spending part of it at some ski lodge or something. At least that sounds promising."

"That's cool," Sydney said. "We do the same thing every year at my aunt's house. My family isn't exactly exotic or anything."

"I find that hard to believe," he replied. "Knowing you, anyway."

Sydney tried very hard not to blush or do something equally embarrassing. "You don't know me that well," she pointed out.

"We could remedy that," Adrian replied.

"Um, I really don't think we should hook up again…" she said, clearing her throat.

"What? No. That's not what I mean," Adrian clarified. "I meant we could go out sometime."

"Oh, yeah…maybe we can catch up after break," Sydney said. "I do really need to go. Thanks again…or…bye."

"That wasn't awkward at all," Adrian said with a chuckle. "Thanks for letting me down easy, though."

"That's not what I meant," Sydney said as she got up to her feet.

"What you meant was I was drunk last night and if we never see each other again that's okay, but I'm too polite to tell you that," Adrian replied.

"Okay, maybe that's kind of what I meant," Sydney relented.

"Here, let's do it this way," Adrian replied. He grabbed a pen from the lazy susan in the middle of the table and wrote on Sydney's hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"That's my cell. The ball's in your court," he replied. "Nice meeting you, Sage. I'll go take my shower while you leave, that way you won't see me cry."

She looked at her hand and then up at him. "Okay," she said. Words were not her friend today.

"Unless of course you decide to join me…which is totally cool," Adrian said with a grin. As promised he abandoned his seat and headed towards the bathroom.

Sydney idled for a few minutes and cleaned up the dishes. She grabbed her purse from his bedroom and finally left the apartment.

In order to take her mind off everything that had just transpired Sydney headed back to her dorm room to pack. Doing something as mindless as folding blouses would calm her nervous energy.

She unlocked the door to the room and found it empty. Her roommate must have left early that morning. Even better. Now she wouldn't have to explain where she had been all night.

Sydney eased her suitcase out from the back of her miniscule closet and set it on the bed. She pulled open her top drawer and started gathering clothes. She could leave most of the wintery ones at home and bring her spring clothes back to school in January. She was lost in an easy rhythm of sorting when her cell phone rang.

Sydney groaned when she saw her father's number flashing on the screen. She didn't want to pick it up, but she knew if she didn't he'd just keep calling.

"Hi, dad," she greeted him.

"Good morning, Sydney. How was your last final?" her father asked.

"Fine," she told him.

"Did you talk to Professor Campbell about the internship?" she asked.

"No, I didn't. The TA passed out the final," Sydney explained.

"I'm sure you can catch him in his office then," he reasoned.

"He's probably gone for break," Sydney replied.

"You have his cell, right? And his e-mail? You can't just sit around and expect things to happen, Sydney," her father said.

Really? She had never heard that one before. "I don't even know if I want the internship," she replied.

"Of course you do. A recommendation from Professor Campbell can open up a lot of doors," he said.

"I was actually interested in…" Sydney began.

"Do not finish that sentence, Sydney. I already told you that trip to Rome is out of the question," he said.

"It's not a trip. It's a course…for credit," she pointed out. "And it's actually something I care about," she mumbled the last part.

"A course that's about as helpful as underwater basket weaving," he said with a sigh. "Please make sure you talk to Professor Campbell before you come home."

Sydney could argue with her father until she was blue in the face, but it wouldn't do any good. "Okay," she replied. "I need to finish packing."

"Just remember, Sydney, this is all for your own good. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow," her father said before hanging up.

"The feeling is not mutual," Sydney said to the phone after the call had disconnected.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you for all the kind words!_

Chapter Three

Just as quickly as Sydney had set the phone down it rang again. She made a face. What did her father forget to tell her now? Luckily it was just Jill.

"Hi," she greeted her friend.

"Did you get out of there in one piece?" Jill teased her.

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Sorry about that."

"No worries. That was definitely unfamiliar territory for you," Jill said.

"Hopefully for you too," Sydney said.

"Eh, I plead the fifth," Jill replied.

"My dad just called," Sydney said.

"Oh jeehz…what did he want?" Jill asked her.

Sydney abandoned packing and sat down on the bed. "What he always wants. Me to be his mini-me," she replied. "I wish I didn't have to go home for break."

"Then don't go home," Jill said.

"What do you mean don't go home?' she asked her.

"Come spend the break with me and my family," Jill replied.

"Wouldn't that be an imposition?" Sydney asked her.

"Please, we're going to Maui and my parents won't care," Jill insisted. "It'll be fun!"

"That does sound fun," Sydney said. "But my parents won't go for it."

"Ask your mom," Jill said.

Sydney's mother was nothing like her father. She would let her go if she asked. "I don't know," Sydney said with a sigh.

"Sydney, call your mother. Tell her I asked you and you want to go," Jill instructed her. "You can spend part of break with them if they insist…just spend the chunk of it with me."

"Okay," Sydney agreed.

"Sydney, come on…it'll be…oh wait, did you just say yes?" Jill asked her.

Sydney chuckled. "Yes, but ask your parents first…then I'll call mine," she said.

"Hang on. I'm texting my mom," Jill said. "Okay, she says it's fine."

"Seriously?" Sydney asked her.

"Yes, seriously," Jill replied. "Call your mom on threeway."

"I'll just call her later," Sydney said.

"If you don't do it now and with me on the phone you won't do it. Dial," Jill said.

Sydney relented and dialed her mother's cell phone. "Hi, mom…it's Sydney," she greeted her.

"And Jill!" Jill piped in.

"Oh, hello, girls. How's everything?" Mrs. Sage asked.

"Great," Jill replied. "Sydney has something she wants to ask you."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Jill's family has offered to let me spend part of break with them in Maui," she told her mother.

"When do you leave?" Mrs. Sage asked.

"Pardon?" Sydney asked.

"When do you leave?" she asked her daughter.

"I can go?" Sydney asked.

"You're an adult, Sydney. And you deserve to have fun. You work so hard," Mrs. Sage said.

"What about dad?" Sydney asked.

"I'll worry about that," Mrs. Sage. "Just call me back or email me the details."

"Thanks, mom," Sydney said to her.

"Thanks, Mrs. Sage," Jill echoed.

"You girls have fun," Mrs. Sage said.

"We will. We'll take good care of her," Jill assured her.

"I love you, mom. I'll talk to you soon," Sydney said.

"I love you too, honey," Mrs. Sage replied before she hung up the phone.

"Oh my god, I'm so excited!" Jill squealed as the conversation returned to just the two of them.

Sydney couldn't help but laugh. "Shoot, I don't have any of my summery clothes," she said.

"That's what online shopping is for," Jill reminded her. "We're not leaving until Sunday. You'll have plenty of time. I'll come over and help you."

Before Sydney could even reply Jill hung up the phone. "See you soon?" she said with a snicker.

xxx

"No one is coming to kidnap you," Jill said, breaking Sydney's train of thought.

"What? What does that even mean?" Sydney asked her.

The two, along with Jill's parents, were at the airport. Their flight to Hawaii was leaving in about thirty minutes. After some online shopping Sydney's suitcase was ready for a few weeks of fun in the sun.

"It means you keep looking over your shoulder like someone is going to haul you off," Jill said with a snort.

"Would you put it past my dad to show up just before the plane takes off?" Sydney asked her.

"He'd never make it through security without a ticket," Jill insisted.

Sydney was about to protest, but thought better of it. "Let's talk about something else. I can't believe your parents have a house on Maui," she said.

"It's just a timeshare. It's not like it's just our house," Jill replied.

"Well, still…it's pretty cool," Sydney said.

"I have some pictures of it on my phone," Jill said to her. She fished her phone out of her pocket and flipped through the albums. Once she located them she handed the phone to Sydney.

"Wow," Sydney mused as she flipped through the photos. "It's beautiful. And huge…"

"We'll have a whole wing to ourselves," Jill said.

"How am I ever going to go back to the dorm after this?" she asked with a chuckle. She handed the phone back to her friend.

"I'm so happy you're coming," Jill said.

"Me too. I really appreciate the invite," Sydney said.

"If anyone deserves a break it's you. You work too hard," Jill said. "Well, maybe not ALL the time."

Sydney blushed. "That was a mistake," she said to her.

"Adrian's a nice guy," Jill said. "And it didn't seem like he was trying to get rid of you the next day," she added.

"He probably just wanted to hook up again," Sydney insisted.

"Maybe he wanted to get to know you better," Jill replied.

"Did he say something to you?" Sydney asked curiously.

"Oh, no. I mean, I haven't talked to him since the party," Jill replied.

Before Sydney could continue the conversation they started to board the flight. She and Jill settled into their first class seats. Before the plane had even taken off Jill was fast asleep, but Sydney was too excited to sleep. She figured she'd probably never fly first class again so she wanted to enjoy every second of it. Eventually exhaustion won out and Sydney slept the rest of the way to the island.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews. Your feedback is most appreciated!_

Chapter Four

With the time difference Sydney and the Melroses arrived in the middle of the night. A car was waiting to pick them up and take them to the house. Sydney didn't even have a chance to appreciate her surroundings. They got their luggage inside and went right to bed.

Sunlight streamed into the room the next morning. Sydney peeked an eye open and saw it was after nine. She tried to do the mental math to figure out what time it was back home, but gave up quickly. She was on vacation and time didn't matter. What did matter was all the noise outside. She crept out of bed and stepped onto the balcony. A car similar to the one that had brought them to the house the night before was back in the drive.

That was weird. Jill hadn't mentioned any other family members coming to stay at the house over the holidays. The driver emerged from the car and started to unload the luggage from the trunk. A dark haired man and woman emerged next. Must be an aunt and uncle of some sort.

Then came Adrian. What in the world was he doing here? He had told her he was going on a ski trip for the holidays. Maui was a far cry from the slopes. Sydney ducked back into her room, not that Adrian had seen her, but still…this was alarming! Had he followed her there? No, of course not. He didn't know she was coming here for the break. She told him she was going home. Besides Jill said she hadn't talked to Adrian since the party. Ugh, why was she freaking out so much?

She walked through the bathroom that connected her room with Jill's.

"Jill! Jill!" Sydney hissed. She sat down on the edge of her bed.

"What? What are you doing?" Jill whined.

"Why is Adrian here?" Sydney asked her.

"Adrian's not here," Jill murmured. She rolled over and hugged her pillow.

"Yes, he is…with his parents. Well, I think they're his parents," Sydney said. "I saw them outside."

"They own the timeshare with us," Jill said through a yawn.

"But he told me he was going skiing over break," Sydney said.

"Why are you freaking out?" Jill asked her.

"Why do you think I'm freaking out?" Sydney demanded.

"I don't know…oh…THAT," Jill said, suddenly everything clicking.

"You're finally catching on," Sydney said.

"Don't be like that," Jill said. "My brain is operating on jetlag."

"Go find out why they're here," Sydney said to her.

"We'll find out later. When we're awake," Jill said. She handed her a pillow. "Now go back to sleep."

"How the hell do you expect me to fall asleep?" Sydney asked her.

"Like this," Jill said. She scrunched up her pillow and closed her eyes. "Just like this…"

Within ten seconds Jill was asleep again. Sydney groaned and rolled over onto her back. She was half tempted to go downstairs and find out what was going on, but she didn't have the nerve. Instead she ducked into the shower and let the water pour over her. She needed to clear her head. There was no reason to freak out. She was here to relax and enjoy herself. And so what if Adrian was there? It's not like she'd be spending time with him anyway. He probably didn't want to spend time with her so what she so worked up about?

"Don't be a freak, don't be a freak…" Sydney mumbled to herself under the spray of the shower. After finishing up her pep talk Sydney turned off the water. She grabbed a warm, fluffy towel and wrapped it around herself. She stepped out of the bathroom and into her bedroom and promptly screamed.

"Nice to see you too, Sage," Adrian said with a snicker.

"What? What are you doing in my room?" Sydney asked him.

"I could ask you the same question," he replied.

"I'm staying here…with Jill and her family," Sydney stammered. She tightened her towel around her body.

Adrian chuckled again. "Don't worry, Sage. I'm familiar with your naked form," he reminded her.

"You told me you and your family were going skiing over break," Sydney said, choosing to ignore his comment.

"Change of plans…or I didn't listen in the first place," Adrian said with a shrug. "At any rate I'm here and YOU are in my room."

"Your name isn't on the door," Sydney said. "And you aren't supposed to be here!" she added in exasperation.

"Sage, you're giving me a headache and I'm on vacation so headaches are no good unless they are a result of a hangover," Adrian said.

"I'm giving you a headache?" she asked in disbelief.

"I suppose since you're all set up in here I can give you the room," Adrian said.

"How big of you," Sydney said.

Adrian remained unmoving.

"Do you think I could get some privacy?" she asked him.

"Oh, well…if you insist," Adrian replied. "See you around." He smiled and ducked into the bathroom to gain access to Jill's room.

Sydney sat down on the bed and put her face in her hands. She would just ignore him. That way her vacation wouldn't be ruined. She changed into her swimsuit and cover-up and went downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning," a man Sydney assumed was Adrian's father greeted her.

"Hello, sir," Sydney said politely. "I'm Sydney Sage." She offered her hand to him.

He shook her hand back. "I'm Nathan Ivashkov," he said. "Adrian's father…among other things."

"It's nice to meet you," Sydney said. "I didn't realize you'd be vacationing here over the break."

"Last minute change of plans," he said. "No worries, though. This place is big enough for all of us."

"How long have you and your family known the Melroses?" Sydney asked him. She helped herself to a cup of coffee.

"Mr. Melrose and I were college roommates," he explained to him. "We worked together for a while, but the company went bust and we went our separate ways career wise. We all still keep in touch, though."

Sydney sipped her coffee and nodded her head. "I see," she replied.

"Are you friends with my son?" he asked her.

"Friends is probably an overstatement," Sydney replied. "I'm friends with Jill and actually just met Adrian the other night."

As if on cue Adrian sauntered into the kitchen. "Are you using my name in vain?" he asked the pair.

"Don't flatter yourself," Mr. Ivashkov replied. He took his own cup of coffee. "See you around, Sydney. Try to keep him out of trouble. God knows no one else can."

"Charming man my father is," Adrian replied and looked back at Sydney.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" she asked him. "You must be totally jetlagged."

Adrian shrugged. "I don't need much sleep to get by. What are you and Jilly up to today?" he asked her.

"I think we were going to check out the beach," Sydney said to him.

"Perfect," Adrian said to her. "I'll just change and then we can head out."

"I didn't say you were invited," she replied.

"Now, Sage…you're a polite young lady. How would it look if you didn't invite me along?" Adrian said. Before Sydney could reply he grabbed a waffle from the buffet and left the room as quickly as he came.

Sydney shook her head. She picked up some fruit salad and added yogurt. She was guessing there was a maid or housekeeper around somewhere. She could hardly imagine Mrs. Melrose cooking. She sat down at the table and ate while she waited for Jill.


	5. Chapter 5

_You are all so sweet! I'm glad you're enjoying the story._

Chapter Five

"Good morning!" Jill said brightly as she entered the kitchen.

"Nice of you to join the land of the living," Sydney replied with a chuckle.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jill asked her.

"Trying to wake you this morning was like trying to wake the dead," she said with a laugh.

"You tried to wake me this morning?" Jill asked her.

"Jill, we had a whole conversation. About Adrian…" she added.

"Oh, yeah, right…I thought that was a dream…well, until Adrian showed up in my room," Jill said with a chuckle. She fixed a plate and some juice for herself.

"He invited himself to the beach with us," Sydney said.

"Cool," Jill said, clearly not as outraged as Sydney was. "Now you guys can get to know each other better."

"I think I know him well enough," Sydney replied.

"What does that mean?" Jill asked her.

"What kind of guy takes advantage of a drunk girl?" Sydney said.

Jill laughed out loud. "Oh, please…you wanted him just as much," she said to her. "You've never done anything you didn't want to."

"Well, yeah…I guess you have a point," Sydney admitted.

"I'm actually kind of glad you did it. You really need to loosen up and Adrian is the perfect person to help you with that," Jill replied between bites.

"I'm not having sex with him again," Sydney said quickly.

"No one said you were…or you had to," Jill pointed out. "I think he got under your skin."

"He did not!" Sydney insisted.

"Then why are you SO worked up?" Jill asked with a smirk. "Admit it…you kinda like him."

"I do not LIKE him," Sydney said in reply.

"Well, you at least maybe want to let yourself like him," Jill responded.

The conversation halted when Adrian walked in. "Hey, Jilly," he greeted his friend in between bites of his waffle. He dropped his dish in the sink. "And hello again, Sydney," he said with a grin when he noticed her trying to blend in behind Jill. "This vacation just increased in awesome by nine fold."

"I thought the term was ten fold," Jill said as she poured herself a glass of juice.

"If Sage had come down the stairs without her cover up on I would have said ten fold," Adrian explained.

"I thought you were going to Colorado," Jill said. She settled in the stool next to Adrian.

"Flood at the lodge or something," Adrian said with a shrug. "I thought I might actually have to spend the whole break at home, but luckily your parents were willing to share and here we are. Thank god."

Sydney idled by the counter and poured herself another cup of coffee.

"I don't bite, Sage," Adrian said and nodded to the stool on the other side of him.

"I'm fine here," she assured him.

"So I hear we're all going to the beach," Jill said to him.

He wiped his mouth on the back of his wrist. "Yeah, I was thinking the one on the left side of the island," he said to the girls.

"Is that the topless one or the nude one?" Jill asked him.

Sydney nearly choked on the sip of coffee making its way down her throat. "What?"

"Joke, Sage," Adrian assured her. "Besides those beaches are only fun during spring break."

xxx

The trio made their way down to the beach. Sydney set up her towel while Jill and Adrian went to explore the water. She pulled a book of her bag and settled on the sand.

"Are you doing homework?" Adrian asked her, flopping onto the ground and kicking sand up onto the pages of the book.

"It's called reading for pleasure," she said, peeking over the top of her sunglasses.

"Never heard of it," he said. "So were you ever going to call me?" he asked her curiously.

"Pardon?" she asked him.

"I gave you my number…the morning after," he reminded her.

She had forgotten about the phone number exchange (one sided exchange). "I was waiting for the right moment," she explained.

"It's okay, Sage. I know hooking up with me was probably the highlight of your existence and you were afraid if you did it again it might not be as good," he said. "But trust me…I'm like a fine wine…I get even better over time."

Sydney blinked a few times after he was done speaking. "Did you really just say all that?" she asked him.

Adrian laughed. "Depends if it worked," he said.

"No," she replied with a laugh of her own.

"Then it was a total joke," Adrian said. He rolled over onto his back. "So are you going to get in the water or just hang out here?"

"Have you ever watched Shark Week?" she asked him.

"Yes, have you?" Adrian asked her.

"You just want me to take my cover-up off," Sydney said to him.

His eyes lingered over her for a moment before he held her gaze. "How about we make a deal?" he asked her.

"I'm listening," she said cautiously.

"You let me teach you how to surf and I promise to back off with all the hook up teasing," he said.

"And we can just be friends?" she asked him.

"Friends," he promised. He offered his hand.

Sydney slid her hand into his hand shook. "Why do I feel like I just made a deal with the devil?" she sighed.

"Hey!" Jill called as she ran back towards them. "There's a party tonight. The neighbors invited us."

"I'm in," Adrian said without asking for another other details.

"What about you, Sydney?" she asked her friend.

"You guys have fun," Sydney replied with a wave of her hand.

"I thought you liked parties…at least parties I was at anyway," Adrian said with a grin.

Sydney gave him a look. "You promised you'd lay off with the jokes!" she exclaimed.

"After you agree to let me teach you how to surf…until then it's fair game, Sage," Adrian pointed out.

Sydney groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, sticking her nose back in her book.

It was safer in there.


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you so much for all the love!_

Chapter Six

"I still don't understand how you talked me into this," Sydney said as she adjusted the strap on her bikini top.

Adrian blinked. "Sorry, you accidently flashed some side boob there and I got distracted," he replied.

Sydney rolled her eyes. "I'm up here," she reminded him.

He looked up and held her gaze. "I have a way with words, Sage. Most people are powerless against me," Adrian explained. "I like to call it a gift."

Sydney couldn't help but smile. The vacation had been going along better than she expected. She thought after the awkwardness (apparently only on her part) of seeing Adrian post hook up would seep into the whole trip and ruin everything, but it hadn't. She was actually getting to know Adrian and the more she learned the more she liked him. Granted his ego could be a little stifling at times, but it was kind of charming all at the same time…which was how she found herself on the beach with him that day.

"Now first lesson of surfing," Adrian said as he held up his board. "The water is more afraid of you than you are of it."

Sydney quirked her eyebrow. "I thought that's what you told a person when they saw like a mouse or something," she said.

"Sage, why can't you just go with it?" Adrian asked her. "Now…look alive," he told her. He grabbed his board and paddled out into the water. The waves weren't particularly big that morning, but it didn't take more than a second for Adrian to fall off his board.

Sydney walked closer to the shoreline. "Wow, there is something you aren't good at," she teased him.

Adrian leaned over and spit out some water. "These waves are different than the ones I'm used to," he explained.

"The ones in your dreams?" Sydney quipped.

"You're the only thing worth remembering from my dreams, Sage," he said with a smile before diving back into the surf.

Sydney was a pretty strong swimmer, but she didn't want to break her leg so she just gently paddled out and let the waves rock her back to shore.

"Do you always play it safe?" Adrian asked curiously.

"I'm out here with you…that feels pretty dangerous," she replied.

"I know mouth to mouth…" Adrian assured her. "But you already knew that." He winked at her.

Sydney flushed red. "I thought we weren't going to talk about that," she said to him, trying to hold onto what little dignity she had left.

"Again with the rule following," he said with a shake of his head. He hopped up to his feet once they were back on solid ground and offered his hand. "Come on…let's live a little."

Against her better judgment (she did that a lot when Adrian was involved) she gave up her hand and followed him along the shore. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there," Adrian said. He walked alongside her silently under they reached the most incredible (and only) waterfall Sydney had ever seen. "This is the rainforest side of the island," he explained.

"It's beautiful," she mumbled softly. It was like something out of a painting.

"It certainly is," Adrian said with a smile. Sydney turned to look at him and realized he was looking at her.

"How did you know about this place? Is this your island hook up spot?" she asked, shaking off the feeling his gaze had left on her.

"Yes, all my conquests and I come here," Adrian replied. "Feel free to take off your top." He slid down into the little pool and swam under the waterfall. "The fish are used to it."

"You're something else," she mumbled to herself as she slipped into the water beside him. She giggled when she swam through the waterfall and the moisture rained down on her.

"But not all bad, right?" Adrian asked when she resurfaced, his lips turned up in a smile.

"Not bad at all," Sydney replied with a smile of her own.

xxx

Sydney grinned when she heard her phone beep, alerting her to a new text. Despite living within spitting distance of each other Adrian always texted her their plans for the day. And lately there had been a lot of them. She sighed when she realized the text wasn't from Adrian and tossed her phone down. Her father had just sent her another 'friendly reminder' about the internship.

"Okay, I know it's totally lame, but there's a luau down on the beach tonight…whoa…what's wrong?" Adrian asked as he stood in the doorway of her room.

"This vacation was supposed to be fun…relaxing," she said. "I want to be able to let go."

"Then come with me to the lame luau," Adrian said with a smile.

"Is there going to be a pig?" she asked him after a beat of silence.

Adrian nodded his head. "Oh, yeah…" he replied.

"And alcohol?" she asked.

Adrian grin widened. "That's my girl," he said. "We'll leave in an hour." He started to head out of the room.

"Adrian…" she said before he left the room.

"Yeah, Sage?" he asked, looking at her over his shoulder.

"Is this a date?" she asked him shyly.

"That depends…do you want it to be a date?" Adrian replied.

"I do," Sydney confirmed.

"Then we'll leave for our DATE in an hour," Adrian said. He flashed her a smile and was off again.

Sydney quickly got to her feet and crossed through the bathroom that led to Jill's room. "Help!"

"Where's the fire?" Jill asked as Sydney started pacing the room.

"I have a date with Adrian…like a real date," Sydney explained to her.

"You guys have been inseparable since he got here…and now you're freaking out about being with him?" Jill asked her.

"I don't know how to date," Sydney said, pretty much wearing a hole through the carpet.

"Okay, first…stop moving. You're making me nauseous," she instructed her. "And second…Adrian obviously likes you…so be yourself."

"Be myself," Sydney said as she paused and swallowed a few times.

"But be yourself with better hair. Come here…" Jill said and waved her hairbrush under Sydney's nose.


	7. Chapter 7

_Thank you for all the love!_

Chapter Seven

After getting primped within an inch of her life by Jill Sydney met Adrian by the front door.

"Oh, tonight just got better by ten fold," Adrian said when he glanced up at Sydney.

"But I'm not wearing a bikini so how is that possible?" she asked him with a chuckle.

"You said this was a date," Adrian said. "Date trumps bikini." He offered his arm and after she slipped hers through his they were on their way.

"You weren't kidding," she said after they were seated and Adrian returned with their drinks. "This is kind of lame."

Adrian chuckled as he looked around the venue. There was a pig on a spit over a roaring fire and some native girls half heartedly trying to get people to hula. And that was pretty much it. "I think it's mostly an excuse for people to drink," he said.

"Sounds like every other party I've been to," she said. She slowly sipped her drink.

"All five?" Adrian joked as he slid into the chair beside her.

"Nah, not that many," she said with a chuckle. "I'm too awkward to function with the rest of society."

"How did you end up being friends with Jill then?" he asked. "She's Ms. Center of Attention."

"We had a class together freshman year," Sydney explained. "The professor suggested we exchange phone numbers with someone sitting near us in case we ever missed class."

"Jill's a good girl. Our families have known each other for years," he said.

"Have you two ever…" Sydney trailed off.

Adrian scrunched up his face. "Are you kidding me?" he asked her. "That'd be like hooking up with my sister. If I had a hot sister…or a sister at all."

Sydney laughed. "Your face kinda looks like the pig's face," she said.

Before Adrian could reply one of the dancers came over and motioned for Sydney and Adrian to join in the hula lessons. Sydney vigorously shook her head no, but Adrian was already up on his feet and pulling Sydney along.

"I don't have any rhythm," Sydney hissed as they joined the rest of the participants.

"Neither does Miley Cyrus and people LOVE her," Adrian said. He looked over at the instructors and started to mimic their hip movements. Sydney just stood there and tried to blend into the crowd.

"Sage, it's not that hard," Adrian insisted. He rested his hands on her hips. "Now move."

Sydney shook her head. "No way," she said. She was paralyzed because of the feel of his hands on her body, not because she was afraid of making a fool out of herself.

"Come on…just pretend it's you and me," Adrian said softly. "You said you wanted to let go on this vacation."

"That's faulty logic," Sydney insisted.

"You can't be any worse than that guy," Adrian said and nodded towards a middle aged man who looked like he was going through a round of electroshock therapy.

"If you laugh I will…" Sydney trailed off as her hips started to sway.

"You'll what?" Adrian challenged her.

Sydney leaned in to press her lips against his. The kiss was quick, but left them both breathless.

"I'll never laugh at you again," Adrian quickly promised before covering her mouth with his again.

They had hardly made it inside Sydney's bedroom before her top was on the floor and his shorts were around his ankles.

Adrian leaned over and kissed her. Sydney pressed his lips back against his and she found himself smiling against them.

Her fingers found the buttons on Adrian's shirt, slowly undoing them one by one. As she worked the fabric away from his chest Adrian let his fingertips graze underneath her skirt. Sydney pushed the shirt over Adrian's shoulders and away from his body, his hands now trailing down his firm bare chest. Adrian sighed at her touch and tugged on the button of her skirt. Sydney pulled back long enough to allow him to slip the skirt down and toss it on top of the discarded shirt.

Adrian pressed his forehead to her, both of them breathing heavily now, shaking with a nervous energy. Sydney smiled as he looked into his eyes and kissed him again, much longer this time. She slowly traced every inch of his mouth with her tongue. Adrian kissed him back eagerly, wrapping an arm around her middle.

"Beautiful," Adrian murmured as he drank in the sight of her partially naked beside him. Sydney was absolutely breathtaking.

Sydney smiled at him, shyly this time, and leaned backwards on the bed, pulling him along with her. Her palms traced each part of Adrian's body until her hand rested on the waistband of his boxers. His hardness against her leg was obvious, but Sydney didn't want to just delve in uninvited. She looked up at him and bit her lip. Sydney looked so fucking adorable Adridan probably would have done anything she asked of him at the moment. Adrian nodded his head slightly and Sydney pulled them down and off. She slowly guided her hand inside, grasping Adrian in her palm.

A moan of sheer pleasure escaped from his throat and filled Sydney with confidence. Her lips found his again as she gently stroked. Adrian wanted her to feel as good as he did. Slowly, but surely he guided his hand into her panties, gently caressing and then brushing lightly against her core. Sydney let out a teeny whimper, giving him the go ahead. He pinched the elastic band between his fingers and peeled the fabric away. Adrian slipped a finger inside and stroked slowly, eliciting a purr from Sydney. Sydney rolled her hips up as he touched him, desperate to be closer. They lay there for awhile longer, kissing, murmuring, and touching each other. Totally content in the simple gestures.

Adrian knew he couldn't last much longer. "Need you…" he mumbled, nibbling gently on her upper lip.

Sydney whimpered and mumbled back, "Need you…" She suckled gently on his lip as well.

Jordan's hand stilled and Sydney's did too. Adrian rolled on protection before straddling her waist. He slid his free hand along her arm and gently laced their fingers together as he slippedhimself inside of her, never breaking her gaze. Sydney let out a groan as Adrian gave her time to adjust to the feeling of him. Once she had gotten her bearings Adrian leaned down to kiss her as he slowly built up a rhythm for them.

It didn't take long for Sydney to meet him each and every time. It was like they had been doing this forever. Sydney hoped they would be. As she neared the edge she squeezed Adrian's hand tighter. And with a soft cry of the others name they came together.


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you for all the support!_

Chapter Eight

"Tell me a secret," Adrian said. He pulled Sydney close to him and kissed her forehead.

"I don't have any secrets," she insisted. She idly slid her fingers along his warm bare chest.

"Fine," Adrian said. "I'll tell you one then. I'm going to become a famous artist."

She gave him a curious look. "That's not much of a secret. It's more like a goal," she said.

"Oh, semantics," he tsked.

Sydney laughed. "This isn't really a case of semantics," she replied.

"You won't be laughing when my stuff is in a fancy museum," he said. "You know…the kind they drag kids to on field trips so they get some culture. "

"I can only imagine how you behaved on those field trips," Sydney said with a smile on her lips.

"Perfectly," he said, as if he was offended she'd think otherwise.

"Yeah, I bet," Sydney teased him.

"Oh, Sage…if you had only known me when I was young…you would have fallen in love with me a lot sooner," he said with a dreamy sigh.

"Who said I'm in love with you now?" she asked him curiously. She rolled onto her side and rested up on her elbow.

"How could you not be?" he teased her. He leaned over to peck her lips. "Now stop trying to distract me. You still owe me a secret," he said. "And if you hadn't noticed I'm very persistent."

"I think the correct term is actually annoying," Sydney replied with a smile.

"Sage, you're killing me," Adrian said with a pained sigh.

"My dad…" she trailed off. Adrian didn't say anything. He just gently rubbed her shoulder. Sydney swallowed a few times. "He wants me to take an internship next summer at a law office."

"That sounds painful. Who wants to be a lawyer? They do homework for fun," Adrian scoffed.

"Pretty much everyone in my family is a lawyer," she replied. "My dad wants me to join the family practice."

"And who doesn't like homework!" Adrian said, playfully trying to recover.

Sydney snickered a little bit. "No, I don't want to be a lawyer. There's an art appreciation class that's going to spend two weeks in Rome. That's what I want to do over the summer," she said.

"Now that I can get behind," Adrian said with a grin. "Italy is amazing. We went there when I was in middle school. Food…art…architecture. It's a whole different way of life. It's like going back in time."

"Well, my dad only sees it as a waste of time," Sydney said.

"How can he stop you from going? You're an adult," Adrian replied.

"He pays for my tuition," she said.

"You could get finical aide, right?" Adrian reasoned.

"What do you know about finical aide?" Sydney asked skeptically. Adrian was practically Richie Rich.

"That it exists," Adrian said to her. Sydney rolled her eyes. "How does your mom feel about this?" he asked.

"I'm sure she'd be okay with it," Sydney replied. "It's just not worth the fight."

"Sydney, when it comes to your own happiness…you have to take control," Adrian said softly. "I think you're more than worth the fight."

Sydney shook her head. She wiped her eyes and rolled away from him, sitting up so quickly her head swam a little. "I shouldn't have said anything about this," she said. Adrian's parents obviously supported his endeavors. He couldn't understand what it was like to have a father like hers.

"What? What's wrong? What did I say?" Adrian asked her.

"You just don't get it. I can't just…" Sydney said.

"You can talk to me, Sydney," he said softly, using her actual name. "I know maybe I don't know everything about you and your life, but I care about you. Don't push me away."

"My life isn't like yours," she said. "I literally had to cross an ocean to have some semblance of peace for a few weeks."

"I can help you figure out what to say to your dad if that's what you're worried about," Adrian said. "And I'm sure he won't be upset for long. It's not like you killed some," he joked.

Sydney put her face in her hands. "If I don't go along with his plan it might as well be that bad. My dad…"

"Stop thinking about your dad. Think about you," Adrian said. He rested his hand on her shoulder, but she quickly shrugged him away. "Sydney," he said and tried to hold her gaze. She turned her head away from him.

"Guess I need to take the hint, huh?" Adrian replied.

Sydney stifled a laugh and shook her head.

"Excuse me? Did I miss a joke?" he asked her. He tilted his head to the side, almost sneering.

She turned around to look at him. "You wouldn't know a hint if it hit you in the face," she snapped. "I've been telling you since our first mistake there could never be anything between us."

A looked of hurt washed over Adrian's face. "Mistake? You think everything we've shared has been a mistake?" he asked in disbelief.

"All of it," Sydney said firmly as she held his gaze with her own. Thankfully her voice didn't waver. Everything inside of her was screaming STOP. Adrian wasn't the problem here. She was. She needed to let go and embrace the life she wanted. But the thought of doing that…the thought of really being free…was so overwhelming. It was so much easier to be angry at him than at herself.

It took a split second before anger overtook the hurt highlighting Adrian's features. "Then let me assure you I won't ever bother you again." He picked his clothes up off the floor and slammed the door behind him.

The doorframe rattled as Sydney drew her knees up under her chin. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to hold in the tears she felt welling inside her lids. She slowly fluttered them open and stared at the heavy piece of oak…half hoping and half dreading it would open again.


	9. Chapter 9

_Thank you so much for all your reviews, favorites, and follows! I'm so glad you all enjoyed the story :)_

Chapter Nine

The next few days were miserable. Sydney knew that Adrian hadn't deserved anything she said to him. He was the only thing good in her life and she had thrown that away. She knew what she needed to do…and that started with a phone call to her father.

"That's out of the question," Mr. Sage said into the phone.

Sydney took a deep breath and counted to three. She was not going to take no for answer. "It wasn't a question," she replied. "I just wanted to let you know that you can stop hounding me about the internship. I'm going to Rome next summer."

"Do you think I'm 'hounding' you because it's fun for me?" Mr. Sage demanded. "I'm trying to keep you on track."

"Dad! You're not even listening to me. This track isn't the one I want to be on. I want to study art and history. I want to travel. I don't want to be stuck in an office for the rest of my life," she said, her voice catching a little bit. "I want my own life."

"Then go…live your life…alone," he said. "But don't except me to help you when this all blows up in your face. You think you have it all figured out, Sydney…but when the real world comes knocking you're in for a rude awakening," his hissed and slammed the phone down.

Sydney swallowed a few times and calmly set her cell on the nightstand. She wasn't going to be alone. Adrian believed in her.

xxx

When Sydney was sure she wasn't going to cry anymore she went downstairs in search of Jill and Adrian. Mr. Melrose informed her they were at a party down on the beach. She headed back upstairs to change and then ducked out of the house.

It wasn't hard to find the party. The bonfire lit up the night sky and the music could be heard a block away. Sydney had never felt like this before. She was in charge of her life now. She couldn't wait to tell Adrian (after apologizing…profusely).

She spotted Jill first. "Hey, welcome back to the land of the living," her friend greeted her.

"Sorry about…yeah…" Sydney said with a shake of her head.

"I'm used to your weirdness by now," Jill assured her. "If you're looking for tall, dark, and green eyed I'd check over by the bar."

"Am I that obvious?" Sydney asked with a chuckle. She tucked her hair behind her ears and scanned the crowd for Adrian.

"Quit stalling…" Jill said and pushed on the small of Sydney's back. "Go find your man."

Sydney rolled her eyes, but headed down the worn path towards the bar. Hopefully they could find a quiet place to talk. She had so many things she needed to say. She chuckled as she thought about how he'd tell her he had been right along and then kiss her until her toes curled.

But as it turned out Adrian wasn't going to be telling her much of anything as his mouth was currently busy. She stared in disbelief as she watched Adrian kissing some cute sorority type like they were in the middle of a porno.

"Oh, shit," Jill said as she came up behind Sydney.

Sydney turned quickly, nearly knocking Jill over. "Go, go…I need to go," she said as she ran past her, knocking over the table that housed the ipod blaring tonight's soundtrack.

"Sydney?" Adrian asked in confusion as Sydney scrambled to her feet. "Wait! Sydney!" He tried to catch up to her but she was moving too quickly. He finally grabbed ahold of her arm.

"That wasn't what it looked like!" Adrian said.

"It looked like you forgot about me pretty quickly!" Sydney snapped.

"You were the one who told me I was a mistake!" Adrian shouted.

"And obviously I was right! It didn't take you more than forty eight hours to find someone else to warm your bed!" Sydney exclaimed. She tried to shake her arm out of his grasp.

"Would you just listen to me?!" he yelled. "I care about you…I want you…I love you!"

Sydney stumbled backwards after her finally eased his grip. "You…love…me…" she stammered. She wobbled before finally standing up straight.

"Yes, I love you…I love everything about you. I've been texting you all night…" he said.

Sydney looked down at her phone and saw there were indeed a plethora of messages from Adrian. She looked back up at him and shook her head. "I don't know what to say…"

"Let's go somewhere…let's talk…" Adrian pleaded.

Sydney shook her head and took off again, running all the way back to the house and locking herself inside the bathroom. "Stupid, stupid…" she mumbled to herself.

xxx

"If there's anything I can do for you…" Jill trailed off as she drove Sydney to the airport the next morning. There was no point in sticking around for the rest of the trip. She had done enough damage for at least three lifetimes.

"Just promise me you won't let Adrian try to get in touch with me," Sydney said. "I need some time." She looked over helplessly at her friend.

Jill nodded and leaned over to give her a hug as they idled in the departure area. "We'll talk soon, okay?" she said.

"Soon," Sydney echoed.

xxx

True to her word Jill managed to keep Adrian from contacting Sydney for the rest of break, time Sydney spent with her grandmother. Her mother insisted her father would cool off, but Sydney wasn't going to hold her breath. She had done enough of that her whole life.

Sydney marched down to the art department a few weeks into the spring semester and signed up to be considered for the trip to Rome. It was a little step, but it felt better than she could have ever imagined.

"Mind if I use your pen?" a voice behind her asked.

"Oh, sure…" Sydney said. She turned around and found herself face to face with Adrian.

He snatched the pen out of her hand and scrawled his name right under hers. "Now don't get used to me taking you on all these fancy trips," he said. "Once I graduate I'm going to be a starving artist and I won't be able to afford them." He smiled and handed her the pen back.

Sydney couldn't think of what to say. What could she say to someone who helped her really see herself?

As usual, though, Adrian took the lead. "There's so many things I need to apologize for," he said softly.

"Me too," she whispered. But instead of saying anything Sydney fell forward into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Missed you," Adrian murmured softly against her ear.

"Need you," she mumbled into his neck.

"Got you," he promised as he held on.

"Love you," Sydney said so softly she wasn't sure if he heard her.

He did. "Love you too," he replied.

The End


End file.
